The balancing act of life includes many different things. This would include having a healthy and balanced sense of self-esteem. It is a major key to living a healthy happy and fulfilling life. There will always be two sides to every coin. Sometimes self-esteem can become unbalanced. You may not even know that this is happening. It might seem like something is off but you just may not be able to see what it is. It can be difficult to see the big picture when you are in the moment. So how do you know if you are simply being confident, or are you deceiving yourself?
Healthy Self-Esteem a Balancing Act
A healthy self-esteem is one where you have the confidence to be honest with yourself, and love yourself no matter what. Having a healthy self-esteem encourages you to live your life to the fullest. Allows you to make bold but good choices, and to keep going if and when mistakes are made. We all know that mistakes will be made. It is what you do after those mistakes are made that make a difference. With a healthy self-esteem you will be better equipped to deal with those mistake and make better choices on how to move forward.
Low Self-Esteem
When you have low self-esteem you may tend to think and talk negatively about yourself. Try to go out of your way to please others. Poor self confidence is also a sign. There are other. They all lead to negative consequences of ones self worth. While low self-esteem is not considered a mental illness it can lead to not getting things done you want to do. This could also perpetuate the feeling of low self worth.
Over-Inflated Self-Esteem
On the other hand, an over-inflated self-esteem is also unhealthy. This is a form of self-deception that tricks you into thinking that you are better than everyone else and that you can do anything, even to the point of ostracizing your friends and family.
The Dangers of Unbalanced Self-Esteem
Either way, an unbalanced sense of self-esteem can lower your quality of life. People with low self-esteem often miss out on some of the best things that life has to offer. Either they are too afraid to make a mistake, or they feel that they are not worthy of happiness. It is a type of existence that only holds you back.
Relationships
An over-inflated sense of self-esteem puts you in danger of losing friends and close relationships. Outwardly, people with an over-inflated sense of self-esteem come off as cocky or mean. They tend to have trouble gaining and keeping close, loving relationships because they come off as being less than genuine.
Lying to Yourself
Typically, however, an inflated self-esteem is generally a sign of the exact opposite. Most people like this are hiding their true selves and are actually riddled with low self-confidence. The false mask of bravado is not true self-esteem, and this confidence is really just a form of self-deception.
Understanding the Meaning of Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is defined as confidence in your own self-worth, a sense of self-respect. You are not respecting yourself if you do not believe you are worthy of respect and happiness. The same can be said if you are hiding behind an over inflated opinion of yourself. This is where the balancing act comes in. You need to have a sense of self worth but not allow it to get out of control.
Be Honest with Yourself
To truly find your own self-worth and build a true balanced and healthy self-esteem, you have to first be honest with yourself. Stop hiding behind fear or a false sense of confidence. Many times being honest with yourself is much more difficult than being honest with an another person.
Self-esteem is truly a balancing act that everyone has to work on. To build a healthy and balanced self-esteem you must first and foremost be honest with yourself. Only then can you start to work on your view of the world as a whole. Once you can to that you will be able to make real changes that could change your life for the better.
You can find our post about factors that influence self-esteem here
Merriam-Webster definition of Self-Esteem
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